Birthday Books

On their way to RS, my parents stopped at the cutest bookstore in Evanston and bought Cali some literary works. They gave her the first Diary of a Wimpy kid {or as Carter calls it diary-a of the wumpy kid}, the second Boxcar Children, and the Little House on the Prairie. Cali loves the books, and has been reading Diary of a Wimpy kid every night. There really is no better gift!

July 40 Cents

For the first few years of life Cali thought her birthday was on "July 40 Cents". We are not sure where she came up with this, but as soon as she could tell you when her birthday was, she would tell you that it was on July 40 cents. So, July 22nd is officially July 40 Cents day to us, and she had a wonderful day.

Despite the major face and teeth trauma she completely enjoyed being with friends and playing in the splash park. Our original plan was to go to a local outdoor swimming pool, but it was closed {possibly more on this later}. So, splashing, pizza, presents, and cupcakes were the order of the day!

My parents provided the invaluable service of chasing Caleb all around the park so I could focus on chasing 30+ girls around the park. It was only a matter of minutes and 4 large pizzas and 50 cupcakes were devoured. It was fantastic!

Brandt, in true Brandt fashion, tried to send out the vibe and pick up some ladies. It didn't work out that well for him, and most of the ladies at the park that day were under the age of 10...

And finally, the sign of true outdoor enjoyment. Tiny grass stained toes!

Cali Bites the Dust

On the eve of turning seven, Cali was involved in a horrendous bike wreck. She was racing Carter down the driveway and as she turned from the cement to the asphalt, her back tire abruptly slid sideways and she hit the ground. My mom and I were walking to get in the car when it happened and saw the whole thing. It's the most helpless feeling seeing an accident happen, but not being able to stop it.

I ran toward her to help her up, and saw that she was missing two permanent teeth. After getting her washed up, and calmed down, our kind dentist agreed to meet us at his office to fix her teeth. He was able to fix the missing pieces and extract the gravel from the remaining tooth. It was traumatic and sad for both of us.

I thought that I remained fairly calm throughout the whole ordeal....However, after I tucked her in bed that night, I finally allowed myself to freak out a little.

We are all so thankful that it was just teeth, and not something more serious. She could have easily been knocked out, or worse. I was also very glad to have my parents there to watch the other kids, and for my mom to be with us at the dentist office.

It's not even a week later and there are just a few little scabs left. The resiliency of youth is something to be admired!

A Great Week

Last Tuesday night my mom and dad came for a visit. They stayed until Friday morning, and we had the best week. On Wednesday we ate at Broadway Burger in RS, went to the RS museum, and took part of the walking tour of the city...That is until the thunder and lightening started.

We ate greasy food, hung out, and they wrestled Caleb for me so I could focus on Cali's birthday extravaganza. We were so sad to see them leave. However, I have many pictures and many more blog posts to devote to our adventures.

For some reason Cali and Carter both thought that this eagle in downtown RS is their "pet".

Where Do Hamburgers Come From

For several hours Caleb entertained himself with a plastic cow and a pretend beef patty from Cali's kitchen set. His meat loving father is very proud that he's made the connection between the two!

What Next...

This picture can only mean one of the following things:
A) I've locked my kids up in a cage {not a bad idea today!}
B) Carter has joined some branch of the military.
C) Cali is holding up a wall.
D) Caleb can officially pull himself up and walk down the hall.

What next?

RunTone

For my birthday my mother and father-in-law gave me some sweet shoes. The Reebok RunTone. THE.BEST.SHOE.EVER! I have worn my fair share of athletic shoes and I am very impressed. I am in the process of trying to secure a black pair too.

Not So Bad

I've been 30 for a little over a week now, and I must say, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. In fact, it's not much different than 29 and 29 didn't feel a whole lot different than 25....and I guess 25 was just like 21...and well, you get the picture. Anyway, my first order of business as a 30 year old...EAT A WHOLE CAKE!

Ok...ok...I shared with these two!

I also opened, tried on, and was photographed wearing Cali's gift to me. From my fabric stack and a trusty glue gun she fashioned an apron, belt, necklace, and bonnet. I was thrilled, and impressed!

Christian and I also took a nice relaxing drive to the top of Aspen Mountain. It's really pretty up there, and I wondered why they didn't settle Rock Springs up there....or at least somewhere as beautiful.

Thirty Years Later

On July 10 I turned 30 years old. I am still trying to wrap my mind around it! I remember when my dad turned 30. My mom bought some black balloons that had a picture of a headstone on them and said, "Over the Hill...30 Years Old". She told me to go downstairs and blow them up for a little party she was having for him. I remember looking at the balloons and thinking...well, he's about dead!

So, here I am..."Over the Hill" reflecting on the past decade...My twenties were pretty eventful!

2000: 20 years old, went to Disneyland for the first time. Pure magic!
2001: 21 years old, graduated from the University of Utah.
2002: 22 years old, spent some much needed vacation time in Mexico got pregnant with Cali.
2003: 23 years old, welcomed Cali to our tiny family, realized I was in way over my head.
2004: 24 years old, bought our first house.
2005: 25 years old, welcomed Carter to our growing family.
2006: 26 years old, mourned the death of my cousin and grandpa.
2007: 27 years old, took our kids to Disneyland for the first time. More magic!
2008: 28 years old, lost my dear grandma and shook up our whole life by moving to Wyoming.
2009: 29 years old, welcomed Caleb to our family as we settled into our new life in Wyoming.

That's a very abbreviated version of the last decade, but you get the idea!

I think that life just gets better and better, so I am looking forward to another decade filled with grand adventures.

Fire and Fireworks

The city of Rock Springs really knows how to put on a fireworks show, and so do the citizens for that matter. This is our second 4th of July here, and we were just as amazed by the crazy explosions as we were last year. In fact, White Mountain caught on fire. Thankfully there's really not that much to burn...just some sage brush.

The kids had a hard time focusing on the fireworks...they really wanted to watch the fire. Our favorite quote of the night came from Carter who said, "Cali, I know you are sad that White Mountain is on fire...but, it's America's birthday." So true.

Caleb was less impressed, and promptly fell asleep for his first 4th, at least he had festive p.j.'s on!

Did I mention that it was cold? Really. Who wears hoodies and wraps up in blankets in July. Apparently, we do!

More Four{th}

When Bethany was here on the 4th we attempted to take the kids to the splash park in Green River. Swimming suits were a bad choice, it was freezing. You HAVE to be tough to play in the water in Wyoming...I'm not! The kids seemed to have fun, there were lots of smiles through their chattering teeth.

Here's my brother from another mother, Tyler. You know you want one Ty!

Early Birthday 4th of July

Last Saturday Bethany and Tyler came out for a little pre-fourth of July celebration. They brought me and Cali some early birthday presents. Including these stylin' flip flops for Cali. Bethany and I had a great day of eating, visiting, and taking the kids to the splash park.

Christian decided to stain the deck, and enlisted the help of our guests. Note to self, if you receive an invitation to a bbq at our house, be prepared...

Eight Months Old

Last Saturday July, 3rd, Caleb turned eight months old, and his other gigantic front tooth popped through. It's been a fast and crazy eight months. Here are some things an eight month old can and cannot do:

1. Can: scoot himself all around the house with little effort {especially on the wood floors}.
2. Cannot: tolerate siblings and parents getting in his way.
3. Can: eat a wide variety of foods including, his favorite, strawberry jam on bread.
4. Cannot: "walk" even with his sister's encouragement and "help".
5. Can: scream "maaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaamaaaaaa" at 2am.
6. Cannot: as you may have guessed from number 5, sleep through the night {he made it from 10pm-5am a couple times}.
7. Can: say da da da da da when he's happy and hasn't seen his dad for a few days.
8. Cannot: quit biting everything in sight {he's got 5.5 teeth now!}
9. Can: still get all of our undivided attention just by smiling!

Heading Home

Before we headed home last Friday we made one more stop off at Gus and Glenna's house. Carl's sister, Aunt Becky, was in town so we stopped to say goodbye. I snapped a few pictures of these two siblings and their childhood home, along with some of Glenna's beautiful roses. Aunt Becky gave Cali a few little treasures from the house, including a treasure box. Cali was beyond thrilled, but not thrilled to be leaving...At which time much crying and whining and bawling ensued.

I can't really blame her we had a great time and , I cried every time I left by grandma's house. When I was a kid I cried all the way from Fountain Green to Fairview, and as an adult I tried to get my crying under control by the time I reached Payson. Cali managed to compose herself at the gas station before we headed up the canyon.

Becky Jensen and Carl Pollastro sitting on the steps of 7 E St. Helper, Utah 7/2/10

Grandpa Carl and my little boys.

After about 2.5 hours of driving, and a stop at Winco in Orem, we ate lunch in Heber City. There is the cutest little restaurant called the Dairy Keen. The food is greasy and great, and the kids got to stretch their legs on the train out front. We ended up stopping again in Evanston before we actually made it home. We left Helper that morning at 10am and we arrived in Rock Springs at 5pm.

Busy Day

On the last full day of our Carbon/Emery tour we went to Grandpa Gus and Grandma Glenna's house. Both of these sweet grandparents have passed on, and their house is in the process of being purchased. We wanted to spend some time there, looking around and taking pictures before the new owners move in. Cali, Carter, and Caleb sitting on the steps of 7 E St.

No trip to Helper would be complete without a stop off at the Mining and Railroad museum. This is a great museum, which has recently been remodeled and updated. The kids like most of it, but were disappointed that they weren't able to get in the rail car...it was still under construction. They also had a great display of civil war and Abraham Lincoln artifacts, it's a travelling exhibit that is making a stop in 40 states.

Next, off to get some lunch to eat at the Dino Mine park. This is a really fun park in Price that we go to almost every time we're in town. Cali loved the tire swing, and pushed her as high and as fast as possible...but it wasn't fast enough! She kept screaming for me to push it faster...while Carter watched in horror and begged me to stop the swing.

Finally, to cool off in the afternoon the kids ran through some sprinklers. We were dying of heat stroke...it was nearly 95 degrees and our poor cold Wyoming bodies couldn't take the heat!

Summer Faces

To have good summer face you need, dirt, a little sun, and some ice cream. Check, check, and check!

Fire Truck

The kids took turns "riding" this little fire truck in Grandma Vicki's backyard. Caleb loved sitting on it, and dancing to the music...he even tried to push off and ride away. Quite possibly the best KMart purchase ever made!

Pet Penguin

A couple of years ago my parents decided to get a pet goat. They named him Frankie, and he filled the void in their home and heart left by my sister Dory when she went away to college. Frankie grew, and as he grew he became quite a cunning goat. My dad spent many hours repairing his fence, the neighbors spent many hours bringing Frankie back home. There was no rope or pen that could contain him. There was no man made knot that he couldn't slip out of.

Finally, admitting defeat, my parents took Frankie to the kind goat whisperer from which he came. She assured them that Frankie was just lonely and that being in a pen with other goats would curb his compulsion to escape. Well, he escaped from the goat whisperer and his new goat friends, and now resides in Manti, Utah.

With no Frankie around to harass and feed, Carter took quite a liking to my mother's large stuffed penguin. My dad bought this penguin for her as a surprise on their recent vacation to Washington state. I think I like the penguin better than Frankie. He's not as smelly, doesn't require feeding, and hasn't escaped...not once!

Good Eats

Tiger's Blood {or as I like to call it, Tiger Bloods} sliced ice.

Baby formula. Caleb didn't love it, but Brandt really liked "nursing" him.

Grandma Gwennie's famous sugar cookies.

Crashed Out

The harder they play, the harder they fall! Even Brandt and his friend Kendall gave into the beauty of an afternoon nap.